"And the ten horns which
thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive
power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast." (Rev. 17:12, 13)

Seven kings, ten
kings The
seven and the ten are two different sets of kings. Let's see if we can
discover how they are basically different. Then we can identify the ten.
Looking back at the seven 1710
we read: "And
there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not
yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." (17:10) The
seven rule their kingdoms (or mountains) one after the other. The ten reign
together without a kingdom — at least not in the sense that the others
had kingdoms.
See Daniel's description
da0711,2.

Why ten? I do not take this to be
a literal number, at least not in its ultimate meaning. In Daniel 2 the
prophet shows us a big statue, the subject of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Dan.
2). As Daniel explained to him, he was the head of gold. Below this head
followed silver, then brass, then iron (as Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome).
Finally the feet and toes of the image were iron mixed with clay representing
the Europe as divided into various kingdoms after Rome fell. A normal pair
of feet has ten toes but the number is not stated in the text. We turn on to Daniel,
chapter 7. There we see the same succession of world powers but as beasts
rather than parts of an image. The fourth, corresponding to the iron legs
of the image, was a terrifying animal with big iron teeth and ten horns
da0707. This again is
Rome. From among the ten horns came the blasphemous horn of a different
type which took dominant central power da0809ff,
da0825.
The ten, corresponding to the feet and toes of the image, may likewise
be seen as ten kingdoms of Europe in the breakup of the pagan Roman Empire.
And since this is the final political situation of history (before the
image is smashed) these are all the countries of earth today, which are
far more than a literal ten. When the Holy Spirit showed
the kingdoms to John the symbols were different, but drawn from the beasts
of Daniel 1302
which described the same line of kingdoms as had the image. Here in Revelation 17, we
see ten kings who serve the beast. Chapter 13 pictures two great rebellions
of the Christian era. As we saw, we live in the latter period under the
beast from the earth. In that chapter, the lion (character of Babylon)
arose from the sea with ten horns, bringing to view the time the Roman
empire had been fragmented. Currently we are waiting
for the fulfillment of the earth beast's setting up the image. The number
of the kings — ten — identify the political powers of earth. Here, they
have given up their autonomy to be controlled by the beast the woman rides
on. This is still future as I write. The kings are the powers of the world
which serve the beast that carries the woman as the powers of Europe served
the beast from the sea which we saw to be the apostate church of the Middle
Ages 1305a. From the various forms of
the beast of Revelation, we find ten horns which represent the military
power directed by the heads
1703b.

As yet "And the ten horns which
thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive
power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with
the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and
King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
. . . . And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall
hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and burn her with fire." (verses 12-16). After the ten kings have
been induced by the beast to make war with the Lamb and are overcome (verse
14), they turn on the woman the beast was carrying and devour her (verse
16). This independent action occurs when they finally receive their "kingdoms."
They then take matters into their own hands to destroy the woman. In this
they fulfill the will of God.

17:13Power for an
hour "These [ten horns or
kings without a kingdom] have one mind and give their power and strength
unto the beast." Rev. 17:13. Their power for one
hour (or a brief time) is a clue that they are somehow associated with
the last of the seven kings who would "continue a short space [of time]."
This time of the horn power then represents the seventh of the series of
kings. We said that the last of the seven kings would be the three-part
coalition
1710 described under
the sixth plague. Let's look at the coalition again 1613
and see if this makes sense. The ten who serve the beast
here are the "kings of the earth and of the whole world" who are gathered
under the leadership of the coalition. How then does the dragon
– the beast the wicked woman is riding – fit into the picture? He controls
the "unclean spirits" who gather the kings by deceptive miracles. Remember
that the dragon (Satan) was cast out of heaven with the angels who accepted
to be part of his rebellion
1204a.
The unclean spirits then are the evil angels working for the three factions
of the coalition to induce the kings to destroy those who fail to bow to
their religious leadership 1315a.

They give their
power to the beast In verse 13, the kings give
their power and strength to the beast. They thus act as instruments to
fulfill its purpose. "And [the beast from the
earth] deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles
which he had power to do in the sight of the beast . . . [ordering them
to] make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live. And he [the beast from the earth] had power to give life unto the
image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and
cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be
killed." (Rev. 13:14, 15)

17:14aAttack and immediate
defeat "And
the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom
as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have
one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These
shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he
is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called,
and chosen, and faithful." (Rev. 17:12-14)

War with the Lamb The basic object of Satan's
wrath has always been Christ, arising from his envy of the Lord in heaven.
In our text here, the kings think they are fighting the Lamb. Indeed, the
counterfeit religious system would claim to be supporting the Lamb. The
woman on the beast claims to be the bride of Christ. "How much she hath
glorified herself, and lived deliciously [in luxury], so much torment and
sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow,
and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day."
(18:7, 8). This final
attack on the Lamb is directed toward Christ's remnant people
1217.

Overcome This
is an interesting battle. Apparently the kings attack and are overcome
before having inflicted damage. We find the same picture in the story of
pouring out the plagues. During the time of the 6th plague, the kings are
gathered
1616. There we
don't even read of their attack. The 7th plague shows God's power of taking
over. ". . . and the Lamb shall overcome them. . . ."

For he is Lord
of lords and King of kings In chapter 19 we find a similar
encounter. "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that
sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth
judge and make war. . . .and on his head were many crowns. . . . And the
armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in
fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a
rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath
of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. "And I saw the beast [from
the sea], and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together
to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And
the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles
before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into
a lake of fire burning with brimstone." (Rev. 19:11-16, 19, 20) More on
this when we study chapter 19.

17:14bCalled, chosen,
faithful Note one significant difference
between the two descriptions. In our verse, "they that are with him are
called, and chosen, and faithful." These are the righteous who are his
brothers. In chapter 19, he is seen with "the armies which were in heaven,"
those angels who fought with Him in the original battle with Satan 1207.
We might argue that these angels were also chosen and faithful, but it
is harder to classify them as "called." We are called because we are lost
and need to come to the banquet. The faithful angels must have struggled
with the issues but did not fall so were already home and, it seems to
me, didn't need to be called. In the actual situation,
Christ identifies Himself with His faithful ones who have come under attack
while the armies of heaven accompany Him on the rescue mission. "When the Son of man shall
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit
upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations:
and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats." (Matt. 25:31, 32)

Let's determine to be among the chosen
and faithful ones, by the grace of our Lord who has called us.

17:15The waters are
people "And he saith
unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are people,
and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."

Different pictures are shown
in our chapter to describe where the whore (prostitute) sits. She sits
on waters as did Babylon with the Euphrates running through it 1701b.
We saw her dominance over people again in verse 2 with the inhabitants
intoxicated by the wine of her fornication 1702.
This concept is important in understanding the rise of the beast from the
sea 1301b
in contrast to the rise of another beast from the earth 1311a.
In that connection, we also discussed why the waters would mean peoples.
Also see ps06507. Lists of people are given
several times in Revelation. A chart compares them 1406g2.

17:16The horns turn
and destroy the woman

"And the ten horns
which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall
make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree,
and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled." (Rev. 17:16, 17)

This same surprise is seen
in chapter 18. "How much she hath glorified herself . . . for she saith
in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine;
and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who
judgeth her." (Rev. 18:7, 8). And compare hab0207.

The river stops The
turn of events for the woman who sat on many waters was also seen in ancient
Babylon and predicted by the 6th plague 1612a.
The army of Darius broke up a big party when they marched under the walls
after diverting the river 1408d.
Babylon was taken by the Medes and Persians.

The three-part
coalition falls In
the language of the seventh plague, "And the great city was divided into
three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came
in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the
fierceness of his wrath." (Rev. 16:19)

Desolate and naked We
recall that she sat on many waters or people (verse 1), and that she was
"arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold." 1704
Her priestly attire is stripped off. The "people, multitudes, nations,
and tongues" she dominated now see her naked and turn away from her (leaving
her desolate). See je5003.Eaten and burned "And the ten horns which
thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire."
(Rev. 17:16) Notice the law which the
burning recalls. Lev. 21:9,
Jer.
51:25.

Symbols from a
description of the apostasy of God's people

"Son
of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations. . . . And thy renown
went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through
my comeliness [good appearance], which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord
GOD. . . . "But thou didst trust
in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and
pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with
divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall
not come, neither shall it be so. . . . "Thou hast also committed
fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast
increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore I have
stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food,
and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters
of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. Thou hast played
the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou
hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. "Wherefore, O harlot,
hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness
was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with
thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood
of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Behold, therefore I will
gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them
that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather
them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them,
that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that
break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in
fury and jealousy. And I will also give thee into their hand, and they
shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places:
they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels,
and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against
thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with
their swords." (Ezek. 16:2, 14-16, 26-28, 35-40)

The point to underline in our
thoughts here is that the harlot or prostitute is the once pure religious
system.

17:17Under God's Control

"For God hath
put in their [the kings'] hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and
give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled."
(Rev. 17:17)

This is not to say that the
kings are acting righteously when they give their power to the beast. The
idea is that they are playing out the evidence of wickedness according
to divine providence. Of course their work in eating and burning the false
religious system will reveal its wickedness in the eyes of the world and
the universe. We may expect the wrath of the nations to be directed toward
the system's leaders as well as the system itself. We recall that the beast
from the sea was permitted by God to persecute the saints for 42 symbolic
months (1260 days) 1305a
as saints were given into the hand of the horn power (Dan.
7:25). In the end time apostasy, the beast from the earth is permitted
to make an image and to empower it 1315b.
Tough times are coming but God is in control and will give us the strength
to endure. Let's
remember that the end-time religious system of the majority will appear
sacred like a priest with garments and precious stones, but it will be
working against the glory of God and against his remnant people.

Until God's words
are fulfilled We read a similar statement
in connection with the seventh trumpet 1007a:
"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin
to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to
his servants the prophets." (Rev. 10:7) What very significant words
of God could the angel be talking about? He assumes we know. I believe
it is the promise of redemption that must have been very precious to our
first parents. After Eve and Adam sinned, God met them. Here is part of
what He said: "And the LORD God called
unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy
voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the
tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? . . . And the
woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said
unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all
cattle. . . . And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel." (Gen. 3:9-15) "Nevertheless we, according
to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness." (2 Peter 3:13) "And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:14-16) It's the big promise,
the grand hope of the righteous through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!
The
forces of evil will be crushed. Of course the resolution of the sin problem
is not complete until after the end of the thousand years, but from the
time the adulterous, powerful end-time religious system is ended, the righteous
will no longer suffer the wrath of the dragon. The judgment of the woman
on the beast and the end of the preadvent judgment come at the same time,
at the beginning of the time of trouble.

17:18The great city

"And the woman
which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of
the earth." (Rev. 17:18)

This final summary statement
clarifies that the woman is Babylon. She is the religious power that takes
over the kings — a counterfeit "king of kings." (Compare vs.
14; Rev.
19:16; Dan.
2:37) The apostasy is resolved
by Christ at the time of the seventh trumpet, which is the time of the
judgment of the evil woman: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever." (Rev. 11:15)